(AP) -- There was a time when Kevin Harvick
didn't want anything to do with Dale Earnhardt's legacy.
Harvick abruptly took the wheel at Richard Childress Racing in
2001, just days after Earnhardt died in a crash at Daytona. In
hindsight, Harvick says the pressure of replacing a racing legend
under the most awkward of circumstances was too much to take.
But now that he's racing for a NASCAR championship of his own,
Harvick has come to embrace Earnhardt's legacy - and has received a
slew of supportive messages from Earnhardt's fans this week.
Harvick is third in the standings going into Sunday's Sprint Cup
season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, 46 points behind leader
Denny Hamlin and 31 points behind Jimmie Johnson.
(Copyright ©2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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